In These Times

Latest Comments view all 6

• • 08 Sep 07
  • 6:17 pm

  I have no argument with the substance of this article, except to say that it makes more sense to me for urban gardening projects to rent land than to buy acreage at market prices. I think that most cities have an "agricultural use" category that results in a substantial reduction in property taxes for the land owner. Most owners would be willing to rent out property at very little cost in order to secure this tax classification. Of course, the gardening project would need to move to other lands when and if the land owner decided to develop the property. I …

  Posted to Farming the Concrete Jungle

• • 04 Jun 07
  • 3:04 pm

  Good article, I thought. That the Bush administration seems to want to return to the philosophy of the disastrous "Freedom to Farm Act" says a lot about their general lack of judgement and their inability to learn from experience. Overall, a good use of the chicken industry as an example, but I think that the interest of major chicken players in low grain prices is somewhat overstated. Because there are so few major players, and because they do not sell "chickens on the hoof", higher grain prices are very easily passed on to the consumer, leaving their profits untouched. It seems …

  Posted to Whose Subsidy Is It Anyway?

• • 15 May 07
  • 10:32 pm

  OK.........These tactics work, and have increased the incomes of some of the Florida tomato pickers. Apparently the plan is to go from corporate target to target until all of the workers gain the increased incomes. Other fast food chains, Walmart, Whole Foods........why not Budweiser and Ford Motors? In the meantime, there are some important issues that this campaign ignores. These tomato pickers earn about $7.50 per hour. In the 5-6 month picking season they earn $10,000 to $12,000. That's about it for the year. It seems rare that any spouses are employed. This partial employment does not make for a living …

  Posted to Doing It For Themselves

• • 16 May 07
  • 5:43 pm

  If McDonalds CEO makes only a million per year, that's less than a lot of CEO's make, but is still a huge pot of money. I've heard the recommendation that CEO compensations be tied to a multiple(don't remember how much a multiple) of the average salary of all corporate employees. That sounds OK with me. But whatever it is, if it is inappropriately high, then yes, I would say that the excess management moneys would be better distributed to the rank and file employees. But still, yes, I do not think that, in the absense of child labor, or slave labor, …

  Posted to Doing It For Themselves

• • 13 May 07
  • 5:03 pm

  I wish that Ms Huerta had given a little more complete answer to the questions about open borders, and the role of the border patrol. All I could gather is that she thinks that we should just back off and let the Mexican government handle all of that.

  Posted to Rebelde for the Cause